


Tumblr Prompts

by Punrise



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Accidental Outing, Aged-Up Character(s), Crushes, Fake Dating, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Multi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, chapter 14 is pure angst, it's just all fluff honestly
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-09-08
Packaged: 2019-07-04 23:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15851286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Punrise/pseuds/Punrise
Summary: A collection of prompts originally posted to my Tumblr.





	1. 46. Reddie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 46\. “If they find out, I’ll kill myself and then you.”

Eddie’s day at work has been surprisingly good. He’d only had one fussy person and the majority of his passengers were generous tippers meaning that, thanks to the extra money, he could finish an hour early tonight and still earn as much as he would usually.

He was tempted to work the extra hour and use the tip money to take Richie out to a nice restaurant for the night, but Richie’s day hadn’t been so good — apparently he’d messed up an important job interview — so instead he picked up take out from his boyfriend’s favorite restaurant to eat in the comfort of their own home. Richie will appreciate that more he thinks.

Just as he parks his phone begins to ring and he takes it out of his pocket, not bothering to check the caller ID. It’d be one of the Losers; they were the only ones who had his phone number and would actually call rather than text.

“Hey, Eddie,” it was Bev. “Just wondering if Richie told you what he said in his interview today? He won’t tell any of us, and we want to know. He went bright red when we confronted him on FaceTime.”

“He hasn’t told me either,” Eddie says. “Depending on what it is, I’ll tell you when I find out but knowing Richie he probably just said one of his stupid jokes.”

“Oh for sure, we wouldn’t be so insistent on asking him if we thought it was something serious,” Bev chuckles. “Ben and I say 20 bucks that it was something about the interviewer’s Mom.”

“Nah. It was definitely a dick joke.”

“Wanna bet?”

“Sure,” Eddie smiles, pinning the phone between his ear and shoulder as he climbs out of the car, grabbing the takeout before he slams the door. “Anyway, I’m going to go and talk to him now. Speak to you soon.”

He hangs up and slips his phone into his pocket, taking the stairs up to their apartment. He unlocks the door and pushes it open to find Richie curled up on the couch watching what seems to be some kind of old sitcom. He looks miserable and doesn’t even look up when Eddie enters.

“Hey Rich,” he says. “Home early.”

There’s a beat of silence before Richie mumbles something that Eddie can’t understand.

“I said that I could see that you were — hold on, you got takeout?!” He sits up, finally looking in Eddie’s direction, blowing him a kiss. “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

“You mean it’s not because of my good looks?”

“Well that too, but mainly because you buy me takeout when I’m sad.”

Eddie laughs, heading over to the kitchen where he dishes up and takes the plates to the table where Richie’s eagerly waiting, his blanket still wrapped around his shoulders.

“So, you want to talk about your interview?” Eddie asks and Richie almost chokes on the chicken ball he’s eating.

“Not you too,” he groans. “It’s all the others have asked about since I said it didn’t go too well.”

“What do you expect?” Eddie raises an eyebrow.

“I dunno,” Richie shrugs. Eddie notices that his cheeks are beginning to redden. “The interviewer asked how old I was, just to make sure she had it right I guess, and I said ‘ask you Mom, she’ll know. I told her last night —”

Eddie snorts. Looks like he owes Bev $20.

“— no, that’s not all. So we kinda laughed that one off and then she asked where we lived before we moved here, right?”

“Right.”

“So I said Derry and she was like ‘oh that must have been a long trip’ and I replied with "'yeah, it was longer than your Mom lasted in bed at least.’”

“Oh my God, Richie,” Eddie sniggers, holding his hand to his mouth. “There’s no way you’re not getting a call back.”

“I know,” Richie refuses to make eye contact. “I didn’t even finish the interview. I told them I had to use the bathroom and then just left.”

“Oh man, Bev’s going to be taking the piss out of you forever,” Eddie grins. “You’ll never live this down.”

“You can’t tell any of the other Losers!” Richie shakes his head. “Not yet, anyway. Give me time to get over the embarrassment. If they find out I’ll kill myself and then you.”

“Alright, alright.” Eddie holds his hands up.

Later, when they’ve finished dinner and cleaned up, Eddie texts Bev.

 **To Bev:**   _Owe you $20. Don’t ask what the jokes are; Richie will tell all in time._

 **From Bev:**   _Jokes???_  
                  _More than one??_  
_Edward Kaspbrak, answer me!_

Richie’s phone starts to ring. Eddie groans. Looks like as well as being in debt to Bev, he’s about to meet an early grave.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)  
> I have been taking a small break from posting prompts daily but intend to start posting them again soon. I am still accepting requests so feel free to send them in!


	2. 81. Reddie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 81\. “I need you to fake date me.”

Richie looks forward to skyping his parents every week. It’s the best part of his Wednesdays, when he sits down with his parents’ faces on his laptop screen and talks to them for an hour or more. He misses them more than he is willing to admit and it’s nice to hear about what’s happening back in Derry now that he’s no longer living there. He leans back in his chair as the dial tone echoes around his room, and grins when the call is answered and he hears his mom’s voice.

“Hey Richie,” She waves. “Can you hear us? See us?”

“Yes and yes,” He nods. “Man, it’s good to see your faces. This week has been hell.”

“What’s happened?” His mom frowns.

“Just deadlines. I had three essays due by 4:00PM,” He shrugs. It was rough, especially as he likes to leave things until the last minute (he hadn’t this time), but he managed it. “And of course it’s been the one week that the others are mostly free. It’s hard work trying to balance your studies and social life, I’m telling ya!”

“Have you been out with that boy you’re seeing?” His dad asks and he almost chokes on the soda he’s drinking.

In the last few Skype calls he’d mentioned to his parents that he had a boyfriend; it was meant to be a joke but they had taken it seriously. Now he’s dug himself into a hole that he can’t get out of, going along with it for probably the last month. The only problem is is that he doesn’t have a boyfriend and he probably won’t have a boyfriend for a while. He hasn’t focused on that at all — not that he’s really bothered about it — and there’s no way that he’ll be able to find someone now. Everyone’s too busy studying for their end of term exams.

“You know,” His mom says. “You never told us his name.”

Richie panics then and he opens his mouth to tell them that the whole thing was a lie, but what actually tumbles past his lips is a name. The name of a boy he’d been friends with in middle school before the boy had moved away, and who he’d recently reconnected with at college. A boy that he’s been crushing on for years but is too scared to make a move. Especially now that they haven’t seen each other for years.

“Eddie Kaspbrak.”

He hates himself as soon as he says it because  _(beep-beep Richie, what the fuck!?)_   he wasn’t dating Eddie and there was no way that he would date Eddie — the boy wasn’t interested in him! He has to sort this out.

“Oh, honey, that’s amazing!” Maggie gushes. “He’ll have to come over during winter break!”

“Yeah, totally. Look, mom, dad, I know we’ve only just started skyping but I’ve got to go. I’ve got another deadline tomorrow, so, uh, I could call you back tomorrow night? Make up for this?” He says, rather quickly and doesn’t miss the concerned look that his parents share. “Yeah, I’ll call you tomorrow okay? I love you, bye!”

“Bye, Rich—” He cuts his parents off by pressing the power button on his laptop. Once it’s shut down he shuts the lid, letting out a loud groan.

He’s fucked up big time now. Not only has he just accepted an invitation for him and Eddie to go back to his house for a bit over winter break but he’s told his parents that he’s dating Eddie. The hole he’s dug is practically bottomless.

He grabs his phone off of his desk and his keys, pocketing them as he walks out of his dorm. He’s going to have to convince Eddie to date him if only for winter break. Well, pretend to. He doesn’t have time for proper romance at the moment and Eddie probably doesn’t either.

Richie hesitates outside of Eddie’s dorm for a minute before he finally gets the guts to knock. As soon as the door is open he pushes past Eddie, kicking off his shoes and flopping onto Eddie’s bed.

“Listen, Edward Spaghedward, I’m afraid I may have gotten us into a little pickle—” He starts, but is cut off by Eddie.

“ _You_ got  _us_ into a pickle?!” He almost yells. He looks furious and Richie holds up his hands in a mock surrender. “You’d better explain yourself right now, Tozier!”

“Chill, dude,” Richie sits up, running a hand over his face. “Look. I may have panicked and told my parents that we were dating and, so, I need you to fake date me. Just over winter break and then we can break up or whatever. I just— I told them you would come over during the break so…”

 “You’re a nice guy and all Rich, but I can’t fake date you,” Eddie shakes his head, Richie goes to open his mouth but Eddie holds up a hand. “I like you, Richie, like, like like you and I can’t fake date you because…” He trails off, avoiding Richie’s stare with his cheeks on fire.

“You want to date me for real,” Richie finishes. He knows that he’s shunned dating since he’s arrived, convincing himself that he doesn’t have time for it but he’s sure he can make time for it if it means Eddie. “I— dude, I’m… I mean, hell yeah. Hell yeah I’ll date you for real.”

“I’m so sorry,” Eddie has his eyes closed now. “I shouldn’t have said that. Now you feel pressured and—”

“I don’t!” Richie says. “You know why I told them it was you? Cause I wished it was.”

“Really?”

“Really,” Richie nods. “So are we dating or not?”

“We’re dating,” Eddie grins, meeting Richie’s gaze. His cheeks are still on fire, but Richie thinks it’s cute more than anything else. “You’re my boyfriend. My real boyfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	3. 89. Reddie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 89\. “Are you hitting on me?”

Eddie didn’t know why he had accepted Bill’s invitation to go to this house party.

His friend was nowhere to be seen and Eddie was perched on the edge of the couch, a glass of lemonade in hand, as the music blares around him. He’s never been one for drinking, doesn’t really like the taste of it, and he doesn’t understand how people are getting as drunk as they are. It’s only just past eleven and he’s seen several people having difficulty walking straight. Bill is probably one of them to be honest; he’s a social drinker and if everyone else is getting blackout drunk then Bill, most likely, will too. At least, Eddie guesses, he’s there so he can help Bill home.

He slips his phone out of his pocket, sending a quick snapchat of himself looking unamused to Stan. He was supposed to be coming too, but he’d dropped out last minute to go to some study group. Eddie had been disappointed — Stan wasn’t a big drinker and wouldn’t get past tipsy — because it would’ve been nice to have another (relatively) sober person there, but he couldn’t complain, not when Stan was trying to get good grades.

Eddie pockets his phone again, looking around the room. He’s mostly alone other than a couple of boys in the corner who were already asleep, one with a half full beer cup in his hand and he considers going to find Bill and cutting the party short. It’s no more than a thought, though, just because Eddie doesn’t like to part doesn’t mean that Bill shouldn’t and he couldn’t exactly leave without Bill either. Campus is a good twenty minute walk away sober and he doesn’t want to know what it’s going to be like trying to get a stubbon, stumbling Bill back.

“Why hello there!” A loud, booming voice fills the room and Eddie turns his head to the boys in the corner before he looks to see who it was. Suprisingly, they’re still asleep. “Can I come and join you, good fellow?”

“Uh, sure,” Eddie nods at the curly haired boy, scooting over so that he can take a seat. Eddie recognises him from around campus, but he doesn’t think they’ve ever talked before. “What’s with the god awful English accent?”

“God awful?” The boy repeats, his bottom lip sticking out as he studies Eddies face. “I though it was pretty good but, then again, it could just be the alcohol talking.”

“Yeah,” Eddie laughs, having to practically shout to be heard over the music. “It probably is.”

“Richie Tozier,” The boy says and holds his hand out. Eddie shakes it. “I’m a drama major.”

“Eddie Kaspbrak,” Eddie responds. “Drama is cool, I guess, but you really need to get better at the accents,” He means it as a joke, but Richie looks offended and has just started to stand up when Eddie stops him. “I’m joking of course! Your accents are fine.”

“Ya think?” Richie sits back down, tilting his head slightly. He spots the two boys in the corner who are, miraculously, still asleep despite their conversation and the loud music. “Those your friends?”

“No. I don’t know them,” Eddie shakes his head. “I’m supposed to be here with my friend Bill but I don’t know where he is exactly.”

“Ah, you know Big Bill?” Richie asks and then adds upon seeing the confusion on Eddie’s face. “Bill Denbrough. The kid who writes for the college news paper. That Bill?”

“Yeah, that Bill.”

“I didn’t peg him as a drinker,” Richie leans back on the sofa, almost spilling the drink he’s holding in his hand. “Guess you never really know somebody.”

“Oh he drinks for sure,” Eddie laughs and takes a sip of his lemonade. “I’ve gotta try and get him back to campus in one piece tonight but I’m not really sure it’s going to be possible.”

Richie doesn’t respond to that and when Eddie looks over, the boy is just staring at him. There’s something close to awe on his face and Eddie shifts uncomfortably, directing his gaze to the floor.

“You have really nice eyes, you know?” Richie says suddenly. Eddie frowns, unsure where that had come from. “Can I get your number?”

“Are you hitting on me?” Eddie raises his eyebrows, turning to face Richie. Sure, the boy is cute but they’ve only just met and Richie is drunk.

“Yeah. You’re so handsome, how could I not?”.” Richie’s cheeks have a nice blush on them. He leans forward and is about to place a sloppy kiss on Eddie’s cheek when Eddie stands. “Aw.”

“Ooookay,” Eddie holds his hands up. “We’re not doing this right now, Richie, we’ve only just met and you’re drunk. I like you, but this isn’t the place or time alright? Give me your phone and I’ll save your number. I’ll text you tomorrow morning when you’re sober and we can work something out from there. Sound good?”

“Alright,” Richie nods. “’M sorry for trying to kiss you. Shouldn’ta done that.”

“It’s alright,” Eddie says, saving Richie’s number. “I’ll text you when I wake up, but I’m going to go and find Bill now to make sure he’s alright.”

“See you later, Mr. Eddie Kaspbrak. Don’t forget to text me back.”

“I won’t,” Eddie says as he leaves the room. “I’ll see you soon, Richie. Take care of yourself okay?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	4. 98. Reddie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 98\. “Where are your pants?”

This morning has been one of the best that Richie has had in a long time. He’s been snuggled up to his boyfriend for most of it, drifting in and out of sleep as he holds Eddie close. Neither of them are in any rush to get to work, especially not Eddie since he has the day off, and Richie’s radio show has been pushed back too hours which means not-so-early mornings. Now it starts at 10:15 rather than 8:15, and he doesn’t have to leave until at least 9:40 which is definitely nice.

Well, neither of them are in a rush until one of them is.

Richie was just about to doze off again when he felt Eddie stirring beside him. He let out a groan, tightening his grip around Eddie’s waist and he tried to pull his boyfriend closee to him. He’s not ready to get up just yet — he wants another half an hour at least. He’s close to falling asleep again when Eddie gasps and then his eyes snap open and he props himself up on one elbow, eyebrows furrowed in concern for his boyfriend.

“You have work today, right Rich?” Eddie asks, his eyes wide. “It’s 9:37.”

“It’s what?” Richie blinks, panic beginning to set in as he glances at the digital alarm clock on the side of the nightstand. “Oh fuck! I’m gonna be late if I don’t get a move on, holy shit!”

“Language!” Eddie yells as Richie practically jumps out of bed and across the room to the closet. “You have a really foul mouth, you know that?”

“Yeah I do,” Richie says as he hurriedly pulls a shirt and a pair of pants off of their hangers, slinging them over his arm as he moves to the chest of drawers and roots around for some underwear, socks, and a tie. “Thanks for fucking telling me.”

He enters the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He doesn’t have time to take a shower so he opts for splashing his face with water to wake himself up a bit. He throws on the shirt, has more trouble with the tie than he’d like to admit and quickly changes into everything else, tossing his dirty clothes in the hamper. He sprays on his deodorant, brushes his teeth, and runs a comb through his hair for no longer than thirty seconds.

Then, he’s in the kitchen, taking a gulp of Eddie’s coffee as he roots through the fridge to find something for lunch. When his search comes to no avail he checks the cupboard, grabs a granola bar and takes another swig of coffee much to Eddie’s protest. He’s never been late before, and usually it wouldn’t be that big of a deal but for this week, whilst his co-host was on holiday, he was the only one hosting the show and what were they going to do if he wasn’t there on time? They couldn’t exactly start without him as they normally would.

“Babe,” Eddie says from the kitchen table, raising his eyebrows at his boyfriend. “Where are your pants?”

And, sure enough, when Richie looks down, he’s only wearing boxers. He lets out a groan, hurrying back into the bathroom where he finds them tossed in the hamper with his laundry, and he quickly pulls them on. Checking his watch, he grabs his phone and car keys. If there’s no more problems then he’ll be able to make it with a few minutes to spare. It’s not ideal — his manager likes him to be there around twenty minutes early to go over what was going to happen on the show that morning — but it’s also not the end of the world. If he can just make it on time then he can worry about everything else when he gets there.

“Bye babe!” He calls to Eddie as he leaves the apartment. “I love you!”

He does make it with a couple of minutes to spare, and flops into his seat in the studio slightly out of breath and looking as if he’d just been dragged through a hedge backwards. But he’s there in time and that all that matters and, when the on air sign lights up, the first thing he says after introducing himself an the show is:

“I’d love to give a shout out to my amazing boyfriend Eddie Kaspbrak who, when I was in a massive rush this morning, pointed out that I’d forgotten to put on pants. He’s the real hero you guys, because, if not for him, I’d currently be doing this in my boxer shorts!”

Richie knows that Eddie will be listening, he always does if he has the time to, and he imagines the grin stretching across his face and his light laughter echoing around the apartment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	5. 56. Stanlon

Mike leans back on his elbows, staring out across the farm. The sun is starting to go down, and he knows that his parents will be home soon from running errands soon and he still has to finish a couple of chores. But he’d take getting in trouble over missing the sunset any day and today especially, because Stan Uris was right beside him. Their arms were touching, and Mike wanted nothing more than to intertwine their fingers but he didn’t know if Stan would appreciate it.

“It’s beautiful,” Stan hums absent mindedly. “Almost as beautiful as you.”

Mike’s eyes widen and his heart skips a beat. He’s unsure of how to respond, whether Stan meant it or not or it was just something that slipped out. But then he notices the blush on Stan’s cheeks and how he’s not looking at the sunset anymore but down at the grass where he starts to pluck blades of grass nervously.

“T-thanks,” Mike chokes out. “I was thinking of saying the same thing to you,” He sits up, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. He takes a deep breath and then, with only a small waver in his voice, he asks, “Can I kiss you?”

Stan blinks in surprise, turning to Mike so quickly that it looks like it hurts. The blush is more intense now, and he almost looks like Ben around Beverly. Mike thinks he looks absolutely beautiful (yes, more beautiful than the sunset) and he opens his mouth to tell Stan that it’s okay if he doesn’t want to, but he can’t get a word out before Stan is kissing him.

And it’s the best kiss that Mike has ever had, his hands in Stan’s hair, and the sunset in front of them. Stan is the one to pull away, and they sit there with their foreheads touching for a couple of minutes before they turn back to the sunset. Mike grasps Stan’s hand tightly, never wanting to let it go.

“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while,” Stan admits. He looks almost giddy, Mike notices, a warm feeling blooming in his chest. “You honestly have no idea.”

Mike raises his eyebrows, uncaring that he’s missing the sunset in favour of staring at the most beautiful person he knows. The dying light is reflected in Stan’s eyes,and Mike reaches down and plucks a daisy from the ground, tucking it in Stan’s hair.

“What if I told you I’ve been in love with you since I was eleven?” Mike murmurs. It’s true; he’s loved Stan since the day he met him. He just didn’t know what to do with the feeling at that age. Of course he’d know for the past couple of years but he’d held off because Stan had never shown any signs of reciprocating those feelings before now.

“Then I’d say that’s crazy,” Stan turns to face him. “Because I have too.”

Mike instigates the kiss this time, and they pull away breathless. Then they both turn their heads back towards the sunset and Mike sits behind stan, putting flowers in his hair. It’s dark when Mike realises that there’s light spilling from the windows of the house which must mean that his parents are back. He doesn’t care though, as he slips another daisy between Stan’s curls.

“So,” Mike clears his throat when they’re laying side by side and gazing up at the stars. “Would you like to be my boyfriend?”

“I’d love to,” Stan murmurs. “I’ve been wanting to ask you for ages. I’ve just never been able to work up the courage,” He looks into Mike’s eyes. “I’m so glad I came over tonight.”

“I’m glad you came too,” Mike nods. “God, Uris, you’re so handsome I don’t think my heart can take it.”

Stan grins, sitting up. “We should probably head inside,” he says. “Is it okay if I stay over tonight? Kinda lost track of the time, and I don’t think my folks would want me walking back home in the dark.”

“Yeah, that’s more than okay.” Mike says, standing up and brushing all of the grass off of him.

“Good,” Stan smiles. “Now you’ve got to help me get all of the flowers out of my hair before we go to sleep. As much as I love them, I don’t want to be combing daisies out of my hair tomorrow morning.”

Mike laughs. “Sure thing, Uris. For the record, you look amazing with them in your hair. ”

As they walk back to the house, Mike is unable to pull his gaze away from Stan. How did he get so lucky, he asks himself, what did he do to deserve such a ray of sunshine in his life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	6. 33. Stanlon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 33\. “Bite me.” “If you insist.”

Stan raises the binoculars to his eyes,flipping through his bird book with the other hand. He and Mike have been at Memorial Park for thirty minutes now, and Stan can tell that Mike is getting bored. He’s never seen his boyfriend so fidgety and, honestly, it’s getting kind of annoying. Stan always hung around whilst Mike flitted around the farm even though he had no interest in any of the animals, and it is the least he could do to just sit there quietly whilst Stan birdwatches.

“Baaabe.” Mike whines beside him. “How much longer?”

“Until the bird comes or it gets dark and I can’t see the bird table properly,” Stan shrugs, turning to him and letting his binoculars rest against his chest on their string. “You can go home if you’re that bored.”

“No, I want to stay,” Mike says. “But you have to admit that it’s a little boring just sitting here and waiting.”

“Not really,” Stan shakes his head. “It’s worth it when you see a bird you haven’t seen before —”

“Stan you’ve been doing this for eighteen years. How are there still birds in Derry that you haven’t seen?” Mike’s frowning, and Stan thinks he looks adorable.

Stan shrugs again and turns back to the bird table just to see the male cardinal he’d come here to spot fly off. He curses, pouting at Mike once the bird, a male cardinal, has flown out of view. He’d wanted to observe it for a little while; they were rare this north of Massachusetts. He’d seen one before, around seven years ago, and he has been looking forward to seeing it again since his father told him a friend had spotted one recently.

“Thanks for distracting me from the entire reason we came here,” it’s Stan’s turn to frown now. “I guess we’ll just have to come back tomorrow and see if we can see it then.”

“I think you mean you.”

“No. You’re the one who made me miss it so you’re coming too,” Stan closes his bird book. “We’ll come a bit earlier, too. See if we can spot anything else.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Mike raises his eyebrows. “We’ve been here for, what, an hour, just to see this one bird and you want to come even earlier tomorrow to see the same bird?”

“Sure thing,” Stan teases. “Can’t think of a single thing that would be a better use of our time.”

“I dunno,” Mike hums. “Eating dinner, maybe?”

* * *

Stan had been expecting Mike to kick up a fuss the following evening when he announces that Mike had better start getting ready to head over to the park.

They chat idly as they make their way to the park, and when they get there they settle down on the same bench as before. Mike puts his arms around Stan’s shoulders, staring at the birdbath like he could make the the cardinal appear there just by looking.

“What’s that bird?” He asks, pointing at one that lands on the birdbath just as Stan looks up from his bird book.

“Did you  _really_ just ask me that?” Stan turns to Mike with a puzzled expression. “Did you really just ask me what bird a fucking  _pigeon_ was?!”

“Hey, you’re the one who dragged me out here,” Mike holds up his hands. “It’s not like I know as much about birds as you do.”

“You should know enough about them to identify a pigeon,” Stan raises his eyebrows. “It’s a miracle you’re on track to graduate, you know, with some of the things you come out with.”

“I’m just as surprised as you are,” Mike chuckles. He points to the bird table.  “Is that the bird you’re here for?”

“Mike that’s another pigeon,” Stan rolls his eyes. “I’ll tell you when we see the bird I’m looking for. Don’t worry.”

“Okay.”

They fall into a comfortable silence for the next couple of minutes. Finally, through his binoculars, the male cardinal comes into view and he consults his bird book just to make sure. He elbows Mike who had been staring down at his phone.

“That’s it?”

“Yep,” Stan smiles, handing his binoculars to Mike. “It’s beautiful, right?”

“I guess,” Mike shrugs. “But was it worth sitting here for all this time? I don’t think so. I mean, it’s cute that you’re so dedicated but I don’t think I could do it again.”

“You just don’t appreciate it.” Stan huffs.

“You don’t appreciate the farm animals.” Mike points out and Stan just shrugs, still watching the bird table.

“They’re messy and they stink. Bite me.”

“If you insist.” Mike says, and Stan turns to him with a confused expression about to ask what the fuck he meant by that when Mike leans in for a kiss because he sure as hell doesn’t want to have to explain why he has a bite mark to his parents.

He’s about to pull away when Mike bites his lip, holding him in place as they continue. When they finally break apart, Stan raises his eyebrows at Mike.

“Really? Biting my lip? Where’d you get that idea from?”

“Richie said something about it once,” Mike shrugs. “You told me to bite you and that was the first thing I thought of that wasn’t totally weird. Did you like it?”

“I mean, I guess?” Stan shrugs. He doesn’t really know — it was too quick to make a judgement. He didn’t hate it, but it’s also not something he would have ever thought of. “Of course you heard it from Richie, why am I not surprised?”

Mike laughs and they turn back to the birdbath just in time to see the cardinal fly off. Well, Stan thinks, at least he won’t have to explain a bite mark to his parents. Mike could do with not taking things so literally, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	7. 58. Benverly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 58\. “You look cute with a baby bump!”

To say that Ben is excited is an understatement. Bev is just under a month away from her due date and he can’t wait to meet his little princess who he knows will have him wrapped around her pinky finger from the moment she’s born. Bev claims she already does.

He’s finished the nursery already: walls painted and furniture assembled. All of the Losers had helped, but Eddie and Stan had been the most useful. Bill and Richie had ended up with more paint on themselves than on the walls as expected, but Stan’s eye for detail and Eddie’s natural affinity for building flat pack furniture was definitely appreciated.

Mike has been useful too, only not with the painting and decorating, but the worries and fears that Ben and Bev have. He’s able to talk them down from whatever ledge they get stuck on and it’s invaluable: Ben might be excited but he’s also shit scared because he’s going to be raising a child with the love of his life and he doesn’t want to screw that up. He wants to be a good dad, the dad that he nor Bev ever really had growing up. But that’s the thing; his father died when he was young and he barely even remembers him — how is he supposed to be a father when he had no one to teach him how?

It’s going to be fine though, he thinks, they’ll find a way to be the best parents in the whole of Derry and he’s going to do everything in his power to assure that his little girl is happy. His wife too, of course; he’s been running around after her since she announced to him that she was pregnant. He doesn’t mind it though, and continues to do it despite Beverly’s protests, because he loves her more than he’s ever loved anyone and he’d do anything for her.

But, as much as he would love to stand in his daughter’s nursery, he has more pressing things to do. He was supposed the have the day off, but he’d just been called in for the morning to review some floorplans and then later, he and Bev were going shopping for some clothes.

“G’morning,” He yawns, walking into the kitchen where Bev was preparing breakfast. He presses a kiss to her cheek as she hands him a bowl of muesli. “Thanks, babe.”

“All I did was pour some milk onto some cereal,” She laughs, sitting down at the breakfast table. “I thought you had today off, why are you dressed up?”

“I have to go in,” He says, hating the way her smile falls. “Only for the morning,” he says quickly. “I’m still free to go shopping later, don’t worry. I wouldn’t miss that for the world.”

“It’s only baby clothes, Ben. If they need you to work then it’s fine, I’ll go on my own. We can go together next week maybe?”

“You’re sure?” His voice is muffled by a mouthful of muesli. “They could do with having me in all day but I’m more than willing to—”

“We need the money,” Bev says, holding up her hands. “And I mean we aren’t going to be buying much — I want to make most of ‘em myself. It’ll give me something to do until she comes and it’ll be super special in the future, you know?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Ben nods. “Anyway, I’m sorry to cut breakfast short but I really need to rush off.”

“You were stood in her room for a stupid amount of time this morning daydreaming, right?” Bev smirks, kissing him as they move to the front door. “You need to stop doing that, babe, it’s going to make you late one day.”

“I like to reflect!” He protests, kissing her once more before he steps out of the door. “And,” He calls over his shoulder. “I don’t know If I’ve told you this before but you look cute with a baby bump!”

It was true; standing in the doorway in her pyjamas with her bed head and a grin on her face, she was beautiful. As he started his car and she disappeared inside, Ben was trying to wrap his head around the fact that she had married him. She was starting a family with him too. It was almost too good to be true.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	8. 50 + 10 + 11. Reddie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 50\. “Did you just flick me?” + 10. “You are a bloody idiot, you know that?” + 11. “You love me.”

It was supposed to be a relaxing movie night, but Richie was making that difficult. He had scarfed down most of the snacks in the beginning moments of the film, he kept making comments on what the characters were wearing and, worst of all, kept almost spoiling the film for Eddie. It was starting to get on Eddie’s nerves, no matter how much he loved Richie. He had heard good things about Love, Simon and he just wanted to enjoy the film, not have a running commentary on it.

“Shut up, Richie,” He groans, sitting up to pause the film. “If you don’t stop then I’ll just turn it off and watch it whilst you’re at work tomorrow.”

“Aw come on, Eds,” Richie pouts. “I’m not being too disruptive. I just have a lot of emotions about this film, okay— hey! Did you just  _flick_ me?”

“Yes, I did,” Eddie settles back down into his previous position on the sofa, pulling his blanket up to his shoulders. “Now shut up and just watch the film, okay? You can tell me about all of this  _after_ we’ve watched it. Maybe it’ll all make sense then because, frankly, I have no idea what you’re going on about.”

“You are a bloody idiot, you know that?” Richie huffs in his British Voice. It wasn’t as awful as it had been in their childhood, which Eddie was thankful for, but it did need a lot of improvement. “But fine. I’ll shut up.”

For the next half an hour, Richie is pretty much silent. Eddie hears him mumble under his breath a couple of times but it’s not loud enough for Eddie to actually make out what he’s saying and so he just ignores it. It’s only when they pause the film to refill the snacks that Richie starts to talk again.

“Nick Robinson is hot,” Richie hums as Eddie carries the mostly empty bowls to the kitchen. “I mean, like, so is Katherine Langford. Her hair is great and…"

Eddie zones out as Richie gushes. It’s not that he doesn’t care but it’s just that Richie’s mouth is going a mile a minute, faster than usual and he just can’t keep up. He fills up the bowls, throws away the empty packets of popcorn and sweets and takes the bowls back into the living room where he rests them on the coffee table. Then he takes the empty glasses and refills them too, flopping back onto the sofa once he places them down, ready to watch the last half of the film. Richie is regarding him carefully from the other end of the sofa, his eyes slightly narrowed and Eddie frowns at him.

“What’re you staring at me for?” He asks, a slightly amused grin on his face.

“I was just thinking that you’re hotter than Nick Robinson,” he says and Eddie laughs. “I mean you’re probably not as great of an actor but…” he trails off with a small shrug.

“You’re an asshole, Rich,” Eddie mocks offense, holding his hand to his chest. “I’ll have you know that I’m a pretty good actor actually. I mean I’ve pretended to love you all this time. That’s a pretty impressive feat.”

“And I’m the asshole?” Richie laughs, shaking his head at Eddie. “Besides, you love me. Everyone loves me, dummy.”

“Hmm, I don’t know about that,” Eddie smirks. “I don’t think Bowers loved you, or any of his little gang.”

“They don’t count,” Richie waves away the comment. “I’m not even sure they were human.”

“Me neither,” Eddie shakes his head. He grabs the remote control from the coffee table and unpauses the film. “Now shut up. I’m invested and I want to know how this ends.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	9. 80. Stozier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 80\. "You're going to get us expelled."

“Richie you’re going to get up expelled!” Stan hisses as Richie drags him along the empty school corridor.

The two of them had been on their way to fourth period when Richie had pulled Stan into the bathroom, where they waited until the bell rang and the corridors emptied. Stan had protested, but Richie’s grip on his wrist was tight and he quickly realised that he was going to get nowhere. He didn’t like it, but he shut up and listened as the bell rang and the noise outside of the bathroom, the cheering, the yelling, and the general chatter, died down.

“Chill, Stan,” Richie scoffs, his trainers squeaking against the floor as he starts to walk faster. “We’re not going to get expelled for skipping half a day. We won’t even get detention trust me, I’ve done it a ton of times.”

“Skipping half a day?!” Stan whisper shouts. He doesn’t like the sound of this. Not at all; his parents are going to freak out. “Richie—!”

“Shut up,” Richie turns around to glare at Stan. “Unless you want to get caught. Then we’ll be in trouble.”

Stan keeps his mouth shut until they’re out of the building and, to Stan’s horror, walking away from the school grounds. Richie doesn’t seem bothered by this and, why would he, Stan thinks. Richie doesn’t care for rules, or even for authority. He’s not like Stan who likes rules and order and schedules, in fact, he’s the complete opposite; he likes breaking rules, and chaos, and he hates plans. It’s a wonder that they’re dating, honestly.

“Are we going to the quarry?” Stan frowns. He could walk this route in his sleep and he doesn’t know why he asks the question because it’s pretty clear. “Can you tell me what’s going on, Richie? Please?”

“Not until we get there,” Richie shakes his head and Stan lets out a groan. “But yes, we are going to the quarry. Bev, Bill, and Mike should be there too. I couldn’t convince any of the others to skip. You know what Ben’s like, and Eddie’s mom would have an absolute fit if she found out he skipped.”

“And mine won’t?!” Stan sighs. He finally manages to pull his hand from Richie’s grip and lets it fall to his side. “I’m going to be grounded for a month. Minimum.”

“Chillax, dude,” Richie rolls his eyes. “You’ll be fine.”

Sure enough, Bill, Bev and Mike are at the quarry when they reach it. Bev has a lit cigarette in her fingers and Mike is pulling things out of what looks like a picnic basket, whilst Bill is laying a blanket on the ground. Stan takes it all in, a confused expression on his face. Richie’s dragged him out of school and to the quarry just for them to have a picnic?

“Happy six months!” The trio cheer as the pair near them, and Richie looks towards Stan with a grin on his face. Stan’s eyebrows raise, and he takes a step back and holds his hands up.

“What the fuck, Rich?” He laughs, looking towards his boyfriend. “This whole thing just because we’ve been dating for six months? I mean, it’s cute and all and I fucking love you, but I’m going to be in so much tro—”

“Nah. Your parents are in on it,” Richie says as he takes a seat. “I checked with them a week ago, and your dad signed you out this morning. That’s why he went to the office. Nothing about having to update some paperwork.”

“You’re such an asshole, Rich,” Stan grins, wrapping his arms around Richie’s neck as the two kiss. “Thank you, baby,” he says as he pulls away. “I appreciate this so much.”

Mike’s parents had put together the food and they eat their fill of sandwiches and crisps and pastries and little pieces of chocolate. Stan can barely believe it as he’s sat there — he’s missing school because his boyfriend wanted to throw a picnic and his parents had agreed to it? It warms his chest as he thinks about it, and he leans into Richie’s side, resting his head on his shoulder.

“I love you, Rich.” He murmurs and Richie responds with a kiss.

They laze about for the rest of the afternoon, talking and laughing and joking. Ben and Eddie appear once school is over and apologise to Stan that they couldn’t be there earlier. Stan waves their apologies away, telling them that he doesn’t blame them; education is important after all. They go swimming after they’ve turned up, and Stan hasn’t laughed as much as he has today in a long time.

When the sun begins to set, they say their goodbyes. There’s a lot of hugs that go around and there’s a faint sense of disappointment in the air that the day has ended.

“I wasn’t expecting that,” Stan admits as he and Richie walk home hand in hand. “I love you so much, Tozier.”

“I love you too,” Richie says. He stops walking and pulls Stan towards him, the pair sharing a passionate kiss. When he pulls away, slightly breathless, Richie gives Stan a wink. “Man, just wait until you see what I’ve got planned for our one year anniversary.”

“If we last that long.” Stan teases and the two start walking again, their light laughter flowing through the empty streets of Derry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompts are from [this list. ](https://pun-rise.tumblr.com/post/176490876291/prompts-list)  
> [tumblr](http://pun-rise.tumblr.com)


	10. 40. Reddie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "I'm running away."  
> TW: accidental outing, referenced child abuse, referenced homophobia.

Richie catches his foot on the last step of Eddie’s porch, losing his balance and flying forward. He holds his hands out to stop the fall and he lets out a cry when he hits the floor, skinning his palms and knees as he does so. A door slamming echoes through the night and a lump grows in Richie’s throat as he manoeuvres into a sitting position and glances over his shoulder to where Sonia Kaspbrak had been seconds earlier, warm, bright light spilling out onto the porch and sidewalk. Now there was nothing but darkness and the only warmth is that of the tears spilling down Richie’s cheeks.

He gets to his feet, scooping up his backpack and shouldering it. He should go home, he knows that, but he doesn’t want to. His parents, although well meaning, will ask too many questions that he doesn’t have answers to. His mom will be furious with the whole situation; Richie was supposed to be staying the night at Eddie’s but, instead, he was cast to the street with little regard to his safety just after 3:00AM. Maggie Tozier will be furious if she finds that out, and Richie doesn’t know if he has the energy for a war between the two moms. It’ll never get anywhere or do anything and, right now, if there are any hopes for him and Eddie making up, they’ll be dashed. His mom would never let him stay the night at Eddie’s ever again, and she certainly would never trust Sonia —  _not that she’s wrong there_ , Richie thinks bitterly as he checks his scrapes under the harsh light of a street lamp.  
  
So, he can’t go home because that’ll open a whole can of worms he’s not prepared to deal with, he can’t bring himself to wake up any of the other Losers even though he knows they’ll all offer to let him stay the night and he doesn’t have a whole lot of other options. It briefly crosses his mind to walk to Memorial Park and sleep on one of the benches there but that’s just asking for it to get back to his parents, so he discards the thought almost instantly.  
  
Richie finds himself in the underground clubhouse. They keep a first aid kit down there at Eddie’s request and although his chest hurts when he thinks of the boy, Richie uses it to clean his scrapes and put plasters over them to stop them from getting infected. It’s something that he never used to do, not before he and Eddie became a ‘thing.’ His boyfriend’s — ex boyfriend’s — insistence had eventually paid off for the smaller boy, and Richie had started to clean out the many scrapes he seemed to be a magnet for.  
  
Just the thought of his ex boyfriend makes Richie’s chest tighten and he leans his head back against the wall, inhaling sharply. What the fuck has he done? He should have known better than to refer to Eddie as his boyfriend in front of Sonia, Eddie hadn’t been ready to tell her, but Richie had been so careless and stupid with his mouth spewing out words before he could even comprehend them. And he definitely shouldn’t have kissed him.  
  
The look of anger and betrayal in Eddie’s eyes as Richie pulled would haunt him, he was sure of it. It had stopped him dead in his tracks and he had stared at his ex boyfriend with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. Eddie’s door had slammed then, similar to the front door only thirty minutes ago, and the two had been left in a deafening silence as both of them searched for the words to say. And Richie will admit that he’d deserved the tongue lashing he received from Eddie — every single word of it. Whether he meant to or not, he had referred to Eddie as his boyfriend in front of Mrs. Kaspbrak and it was wrong of him. Hell, four hours later when Sonia had barged into Eddie’s room, jolted Richie from an uneasy sleep and forced him to pack up his things and get out of the house? He’d deserved that too.  
  
He wraps himself in one of the blankets they’d stretched on the floor of the clubhouse, and takes a cigarette from the pack that he and Bev keep for emergencies. He lights it and takes a long drag watching as the smoke swirls in the air. He wishes that his guilt would do the same: relieve his aching shoulders and disappear into thin air. But it won’t for a long time, and he doesn’t know how he’s going to handle it; it’s not like there’s a way for him to make it up for Eddie, not after what he’s done. It’s not even himself that he should be worried about — it’s Eddie. Sonia Kaspbrak isn’t exactly welcoming of anyone who goes against her religious beliefs.  
  
Even though it was something that he didn’t want to do, he holds his phone to his ear as Bev’s number dials. She doesn’t answer the first time and so he tries again, and again until she picks up.   
  
“What, Richie?!” She huffs, sounding still half asleep. “It’s three in the morning and I’m trying to sleep, so this had better be good. I swear to God if it’s another one of your stupid puns I’ll hang up straight away,” silence. “Rich? Are you okay?”  
  
“No,” he sniffs, flicking his ash onto the floor. “I’ve done something horrible to Eddie, Bev. I really didn’t mean it but—”

“What did you do?” Bev interrupts, her voice sharp. “Richie, tell me right now.”  
“I called him my boyfriend in front of his mom,” he admits and god, it makes him feel like such an asshole. “She came in to tell us to go to bed and I said— I said ‘It’s okay Mr’s Kaspbrak, I’ll make sure my boyfriend’s tucked in’ and then, Bev — oh god I’ve fucked up so bad — I kissed him, Bev. Right in front of his fucking mom. I didn’t even think about it until I pulled away—”  
  
“Rich—”  
  
“— she left without saying anything but I’ve never seen Eddie so angry. And he deserves to be but it still hurts,” Richie’s crying again. “He told me that after I go home in the morning he never wants to see me again and that I’d ruined everything — I took it away from him, Bev. He was supposed to be able to tell his mom when he wanted to, but I’ve taken that. Sonia kicked me out like a half hour ago and that means he doesn’t want to see me again.”  
  
“Where are you, Richie?”   
  
“I’m running away.” The words tumble out of Richie’s mouth before he can stop them and it’s not too bad of an idea, he realises. He has enough money for a bus ticket and he can walk to the bus station in less than an hour. That way he can’t mess up Eddie’s life anymore and he’ll be far away from Derry and from Eddie and he’ll be able to start over. It’s not like he’ll have anyone who will miss him, the Losers will never choose his side over Eddie’s, and he’ll come back to visit his parents sometimes, and he’s old enough to get a job and support himself.   
  
“No the fuck you’re not,” Bev’s voice pulls him from his thoughts and back to reality. He takes another drag of the cigarette and awkwardly crushes the butt with his heel of his shoe in the slightly cramped space. “I’m serious, Richie, I’ll call the police if you don’t tell me where you are right now. Richie!”  
  
“I’m in the clubhouse.” he murmurs miserably. There was no point in hiding it from her after all — the bus station wouldn’t open for another couple of hours, and it wasn’t like he would actually gather the courage to buy a ticket and board the bus. He was too much of a coward for that.  
  
He ends up at Bev’s house. As long as he’s gone before her dad wakes up it’s not too much of an issue, she tells him. He tries to protest; he doesn’t want to get Bev in trouble like he did to Eddie, but she assures him that it’s fine. Even if her dad does wake up then it’s nothing she cant deal with. They sit cross-legged on her bedroom floor, talking until the sun rises. Mostly about Eddie. Bev acknowledges that what Richie did was wrong but he hadn’t mean to do it. It wasn’t a malicious act at all, it was just Richie forgetting (something that he was good at) and Richie being careless.  
  
“You have to give Eddie some time, Richie,” She’d said after they left the flat to walk back to his, hands in their pockets and bags under their eyes. “He’s not going to forgive you anytime soon, and I don’t blame him, but I’m sure that he knows deep down that you didn’t mean to do it. He’s just angry and scared.”  
  
And she’s right. It takes Eddie over a month to forgive Richie, but eventually they make up and it’s another four months before they agree to date again.   
  
Eddie forgives Richie, but Richie’s never fully able to forgive himself.


End file.
